Friday, March 14, 2014
Brendan O'Neill: Israelis don’t care that we hate them. But they’d like to know why
‘The lesson many in the West took from the Holocaust is that nationalism is bad; the message Jews took from it is that nationalism is necessary.’Italian MEP Raises Tough Questions over Anti-Semitism in the Arab World
This cuts to the heart of today’s fashionable disdain for little Israel. What many Westerners seem to find most nauseating is that Israel is cocky, confident and committed to preserving its national sovereign rights against all-comers. In short, it’s a lot like we used to be before relativism and anti-modernism. I think that Israel reminds us of our older selves, our pre-EU, pre-green days, when we, too, believed in borders, sovereignty, progress, growth.
Now that it’s de rigueur in the right-thinking sections of western society to be post–nationalist and multicultural, to be fashionably uncertain about one’s national identity, the sight of a border-fortifying state offends and outrages us. In the words of George Gilder, author of The Israel Test, Israel is now hated more for its virtues than for its political or militaristic vices. It’s hated for remaining devoted to ‘freedom and capitalism’ when we’re all supposed to be snooty about such things.
If Israel is unofficially being made into a pariah state, it isn’t because of its foreignness, or even necessarily its Jewishness, but rather because it is too western for our liking. We loathe it because we loathe ourselves.
Fiorello Provera, the EU's Vice Chairman on the Committee on Foreign Affairs has written to the European Commission and its High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, to express his concerns about anti-Semitism in areas of interest to the EU.The hell with peace
Provera wrote yesterday: "In 2012 during the 8th Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, which was held in Morocco, a demonstrator outside the parliament in Rabat dressed as an orthodox Jew rode a person wearing a donkey’s head. It was supposed to symbolise the subservience of Arab regimes to Jews. Unfortunately there is a widespread belief in many Arab countries that Jews play a role behind the scenes when it comes to politics and economics. In Morocco, for example, the secretary general of the Istiqlal party, Hamid Chabat, claimed that the Arab Spring was the result of a Zionist conspiracy, comparable to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion."
Mr. Black is currently promoting his latest book Financing The Flames of Hate. While he was speaking, at a breakfast meeting, organized by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, about the content of his book, here is what went through my mind:
Political narcissism is cancer,
The result of forgetting the word truth, the world is experiencing stannic control,
Anti-Semitism is now in abundance… anti-Semitism means that Jews must not have a state of their own and thus must never have genuine human rights… the anti-Semites of today are all in cahoots to bring the Jews back to the exilic status from which they got freed 66 years ago, LAST,
Western societies are willingly paying to kill Jews and the outcome, the more Jews killed the richer the killer and his family become.
To understand that sickening phenomenon, here is what I heard and share, some in Mr. Black’s own words: (h/t Bob Knot)
Celebrated Israeli war hero Meir Har-Zion dies at 80
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said that he was “one of the greatest warriors in the history of the IDF — an audacious, distinctive commander whose influence in molding generations of fighters and units was pivotal.”Brighton rocks against anti-Israel bigotry
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him “one of our greatest heroes,” a man who “was steeped in love for the nation and the land.”
Har-Zion, who rose to fame as a leader in Israel’s first commando force, Unit 101, was born in Herzliya. As a teenager living in Kibbutz Ein Harod, he set out for a hike into Syrian territory with his sister Shoshana and they were taken captive by the Bedouin in the area.
The actions of the Norwegian Line and the citizens of Brighton are a lesson in courage and illustrate the value in fighting back. The Norwegian Line and the SFI have gone beyond political and intellectual pronouncements and taken action against the hatred, bigotry, and perhaps antisemitism they encounter.On Israel, the intellectuals are driving the students mad
Only firm, challenging actions can end the bigotry of boycott. It is encouraging in his admirable speech in the Israeli Knesset on March 12, 2014, British Prime Minister Cameron spoke both of the “poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism,” and of the prejudice of the UN General Assembly which in 2013 passed three times as many resolutions critical of Israel as on Syria, Iran, and North Korea combined.
Perhaps that clear message will lead to action.
Galway’s President Browne – no doubt horrified that the You Tube video has been seen by 41,000 people so far and has associated the university with thuggery – is appalled. He has promised an immediate investigation followed by action to ensure the campus public square is protected for all.Anti-Israel student group suspended at Northeastern for vandalism, intimidation, disruption
Perhaps some of those students at Galway will be disciplined. Perhaps one of them deserves to be. But I blame the parents; the intellectual parents, that is.
The real culprits are the anti-Israel intellectuals who are driving those students mad. They tell the students that Zionism is racism, while its creation, Israel, has “ethnically cleansed” the Arabs, built an “apartheid state” and is now carrying out a slow “genocide” in Gaza. Stuff a young idealist's head with that kind of rubbish and do not be surprised if the result is hatred and thuggery.
Northeastern provided me with the following statement (emphasis added): “The temporary suspension of SJP was handed down only after a careful and thorough review of the facts. Despite repeated efforts by university officials to work with the leadership of SJP, the organization has repeatedly shown a disregard for university policies over an extended period of time. Specific violations include—but are not limited to—vandalism of university property, distribution of flyers in residence halls without prior approval, and disrupting the events of other student groups.Report From Members of the Academic and Labor Delegation to Palestine 2014
Contrary to the assertions in the petition, SJP leaders have not been banned permanently from participation, and the organization has had many opportunities to discuss its conduct with university officials. Further, reports that expulsion procedures have been initiated against students affiliated with SJP are false.
The issue here is not one of free speech or the exchange of disparate ideas. Instead, it is about holding every member of our community to the same standards, and addressing SJP’S non-compliance with longstanding policies to which all student organizations at Northeastern are required to adhere.”
An event at San Francisco State University last week had several Jewish organizations deeply concerned.My BDS Questions
Our friend, Emunah attended. Here is her report:
The March 6 discussion at San Francisco State University "Report and Discussion From Members of the North American Based Academic and Labor Delegation to Palestine 2014," had no pretense of objectivity. Although promoted on the official SFSU website of the College of Ethnic studies, the presentation was hardly academic in nature. Rather it was a series of biased and unsubstantiated observations, devoid of history and context, by an admittedly biased panel. The College of Ethnic Studies houses the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative, (AMED), a co- sponsor of last years notorious rally that featured placards glorifying murder. The department has never condemned the glorification of violence expressed at that rally, or expressed regret for their role in the event. They have made no attempt to distance themselves from the psychotically violent writings of the former president of the General Union of Palestinians Students, Mohammad Hammad. To those attending the discussion, the reason is now obvious. The panel’s cavalier attitude towards violent threats on campus was reflected by their attitude towards violent threats abroad.
Isn’t it strange that of all the human rights violators, the only state that is targeted by the BDS also happens to the world’s sole Jewish state?“Bravery is to be a Zionist on campus”
Richard Cohen writes, “Arab nations have shamefully been granted an exception to the standards expected of the rest of the world, as if they were children. If I were an Israeli, I’d be worried. If I were an Arab, I’d be insulted. If I were a critic only of Israel, I’d be ashamed.”
You would think that academics would know better.
Yet, the offensive and patently unjust vote by the American Studies Association (ASA) in February of this year to boycott Israeli academic institutions violated the most basic tenets of academic freedom, open exchange and the sharing of ideas.
The previous year, Oxford students had effectively mobilised to defeat a motion to mandate the University’s student union to join the BDS movement. It was the efforts of a handful of students – led by the indefatigable Eylon Aslan-Levy – who in a private capacity, spent enormous amounts of time and energy fighting for Israel on campus.Open letter to the Presbyterian Church from an Iraqi Jew
Having recognised that there was no official society uniting pro-Israel students – both Jewish and non-Jewish – we reinvigorated the existing but somewhat dormant, Oxford University Israel Society. Following an excellent start, I decided to build upon our successes with a transparent, democratic and inclusive constitution, reflecting the views of our diverse membership as much as possible.
Some of your members, under the banner of human rights, have demonized one country. According to them, the one country that destabilizes the Middle East and creates much pain and suffering to the Arab world, is not Iran, Syria, or Lebanon. It is Israel. They believe the root of the problem is Zionism and the return of the Jews to Israel.Plight of Palestinians in Syria Ignored at First Night of Christian Conference
Your group has just published a booklet entitled “Zionism Unsettled”. The booklet claims that if it weren’t for the Zionist movement that established Israel, the Jews from Arab lands would still be living in peace and harmony among the Arab nations.
The opportunity came on Monday night’s opening of the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference, currently taking place at the Jacir International – a five-star hotel in Bethlehem. This conference, organized by Bethlehem Bible College, has attracted more than 500 Evangelical Protestants from around the world, mostly from North America and Europe.Student journalists attacked for challenging homophobic preachers
If a Palestinian leader such as President Mahmoud Abbas or Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah had made a plea at the conference for the people dying in Yarmouk, it probably would have gained traction and made a media splash. It would also have raised awareness about the plight of Palestinian refugees in Syria, who are suffering on a horrific scale.
But during the first night of the conference, when Palestinian political leaders addressed attendees, no one said a word about what was happening to Palestinian refugees in Syria.
Last week both Yusuf Chambers of the Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA) and UthmanLateef appeared at the University of Nottingham as part of ‘Discover Islam Week’.Shocker in London: Guardian reporter refers to some Palestinians as ‘terrorists’ (without quotes)
Given that both these speakers have a record of expressing homophobic sentiment, student journalists both approached LGBT Network members and questioned the two men on their beliefs.
Calls for intolerant speakers to be allowed to speak in order for their bigotry to be exposed are common from students, so you would think that this would have been acceptable behaviour.
Instead a statement has been released by theLGBT Network and the Islamic Society at the university which targets those journalists for trying “to provoke an antagonistic atmosphere” on campus.
The Guardian – like other UK papers – seems to have an unwritten rule against using the term ‘terrorist’ to characterize Palestinians – even those affiliated with groups designated as ‘terrorists’ by the US and Europe – except when safely surrounded in quotes. Typically, the word ‘militant’ is used instead – reflecting the sage advice of their Style Guide which counsels their journalists that “the most important thing is that, in news reporting, we are not seen – because of the language we use – to be taking sides”.BBC can’t tell its Hamas from its Islamic Jihad?
Indeed, banish the thought that Guardian journalists may be taking sides in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict!
Instead, this report continues in the vein of its predecessor by amplifying the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s flimsy propaganda, according to which the barrage of dozens of terror attacks with military-grade missiles on the civilian populations of towns and villages in southern Israel is a “response” to the IDF’s targeting of three paramilitary terrorists who launched a mortar attack on soldiers carrying out routine work near the border fence on March 11th.It’s Just “Tit-For-Tat” For the Financial Times
Also in common with the previous report, this one too downplays Hamas’ responsibility under the terms of the November 2012 ceasefire agreement to prevent missile fire and other terror attacks from the Gaza Strip – and its proven ability to do so when it so wishes.
While its actual article doesn’t employ such terminology, the Financial Times’ subhead on its Middle East news page raises some eyebrows:Tokyo police make arrest in Anne Frank vandalism
“Tit-for-tat” expresses a false moral equivalence between Palestinian terrorists initiating the firing of rockets towards Israeli civilian targets and Israeli counter-measures to protect its civilians.
Suspiciously similar to the all too familiar “cycle of violence.”
The suspect, identified in the announcement Wednesday of his arrest as an “unemployed man in his 30s,” in a statement admitted to some involvement in the vandalism of the books in February, according to Rocket News 24, citing the Japanese-language MSN Sankei News.Toronto bookstore removes inappropriate sign over Holocaust volume
Police arrested the man on March 7 for entering a bookstore in the Ikebukuro district to hang a poster without permission. It is not known what the posters said.
Footage from the store’s security cameras reportedly showed the same man wandering back and forth inside the same bookstore through sections dealing with the Holocaust, including the day that some of the damage occurred.
A leading Canadian bookstore chain has taken down a sign hawking a large Holocaust volume with the slogan “Oy Veh! Can’t believe I read the whole thing!”Anti-Semites Attack ZAKA Official in Ukraine
The Indigo chain removed the signs Wednesday at one of its Toronto stores after customers posted pictures of them on Twitter.
The signs were placed over racks holding the 768-page “The Holocaust Chronicle,” an encyclopedic treatment of the Jewish war-era experience in Europe published in 2000.
Cohen was treated at the scene by medical staff trained only two weeks ago by the organization, and has been hospitalized with a stab wound to his leg; he is currently in mild to moderate condition.New Gas Chambers ‘Hoax’ Film on YouTube
Recent reports indicated that extremists have been targeting the Jewish community in Ukraine, and that the extremists include a member of the opposition. A synagogue was firebombed last week by unknown assailants in the embattled country; at least one synagogue in Crimea has also been defaced.
The way the Anti-Defamation League describes a newly-released Holocaust denial film, “The Jewish Gas Chamber Hoax,” released by serial Holocaust denier Eric Hunt, it sounds pretty much like old lies repackaged in a new format.‘Did the Mossad Blow Up the Malaysian Airlines Jet’ Article on Hoax Website Viral
Apparently Holocaust deniers, taking a page from master Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels (wait – was he real or a hoax?), just love to hear the same impossible evidence, over and over, expecting it to either become “true,” or have enough people believe it that the truth becomes irrelevant.
A website is claiming that the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, blew up Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, but it’s a hoax.Joint Israel-UK stem cell research wows Peres, Cameron
The article, “Did the Mossad Blow Up the Malaysian Airlines Jet?” was posted to NoDisinfo.com, which only publishes fake news.
“It is their exclusive system, that is these rabid Zionist Jews, who plot and commit great crimes against humanity, murdering people outright through the means of deception – assisted through the reliance on forged identities,” it reads.
At the top of the page, it says the article is published in the “Other Hoaxes” section.
President Shimon Peres showed off some of Israel’s latest medical achievements to visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday. The two leaders viewed an exhibition prepared for the British leader that showcased collaborative stem-cell research between Israeli and UK scientists.Enemies? No, patients, say Israeli doctors treating Syrians
Scientists from the two countries have been working together for the past two years on stem cell projects under a program directed by BIRAX, the British Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership Regenerative Medicine Initiative. The projects are funded jointly by Israel and the UK.
The West Galilee Hospital in Nahariya is no stranger to war. Located only six miles south of the Lebanese border, it took a direct missile hit during the 2006 conflict with Hezbollah. But the Syrian war has pervaded these halls and wards in a much more personal way: through wounded Syrians, who are picked up at the border and brought here by the Israeli military for free treatment
Since the first two Syrian patients arrived nearly a year ago, the hospital has treated more than 220 Syrians, out of around 600 who have been brought to Israel. About a third of those treated in Nahariya have been children, some of whom arrived unconscious or unaccompanied by a relative.
“Something explodes and next thing, they open their eyes in a foreign country, and everyone is speaking Hebrew,” says Dr. Tsvi Sheleg, the hospital’s assistant director general. “They are in an enemy country – that’s how they see it.”
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